Halloween can be a fun holiday for you and your pets, as long as you avoid something truly frightening – a trip to the veterinary ER.

Here are some ways to ensure the holiday is much more of a treat than a trick for your pet this year, thanks to these safety tips from Dr. Jason Nicholas of The Preventive Vet.

Keep costumes safe. If you want to dress your pet up for Halloween, make sure you do it safely. Keep the costume free of loose pieces of fabric and dangling objects such as bells that pets can chew off.

Don’t make your pet wear a mask. They can impair your pet’s vision, putting it at risk for serious injury or getting hit by a car, as well as impede its ability to breathe.

Use caution if you’re dyeing your pet’s fur. Make sure the dye is pet-friendly and won’t irritate the skin or cause an allergic reaction. Don’t apply dye around the eyes or mouth.

If you take your pet trick-or-treating, make sure to put reflective or self-illuminating material on the costume to increase your pet’s visibility to oncoming cars. You may also want to attach a flashing light on its collar, which you'll be able to use on any nighttime walk throughout the year.

Trick-or-treating tips:

If your pooch is joining you, make sure he is on a leash the entire evening. Not only will it help protect him from bolting in front of cars, it enables you to prevent him from eating candy or other potentially toxic items. Make sure an adult, rather than a young child, has hold of the leash.

Keep cats inside during the Halloween festivities. They face increased risks around this time because of people intentionally traumatizing or mutilating them.

Confine your pet to a “safe area” in the back of the house that prevents them from bolting out the door or getting part of their body caught in the doorway mid-dash. Put up pet crates, baby gates or keep them behind closed doors and offer food, water, litter box and toys that will help keep them calm. This will also prevent them from biting visitors.

Avoid potentially dangerous décor:

Fake spider webbing material can cause a stomach obstruction or intestines, which may require expensive surgery.

Those pumpkins can spoil, leading to potentially serious digestive problems. Don’t forget to throw away your holiday pumpkin before they begin to spoil.

The candles in those jack-o-lanterns can cause fires or burn your pets. Don’t leave them unattended.

Food hazards:

You probably know all this already, but just in case:

Chocolate is toxic to cats and dogs. The darker it is, the more dangerous to your pet. Keep all chocolate safely out of reach.

Xylitol, an ingredient often found in sugar-free gums, mints and candies, can cause a rapid and serious drop in your dog’s blood sugar level even in small quantities. This can lead to seizures, collapse, coma and death.

Raisins , grapes and currants can also be potentially toxic and should be avoided.

Candy wrappers can cause potentially serious digestive problems.

Play it safe and make sure to hang up your purse and keep your kids’ candy collection far out of reach of pets.